I came across his article in Professional Carwash and Detailing magazine. They were quite pleased with this piece.
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SANTA CLARITA, CA — Local public relations consultant Stephanie Weiss was recently recognized by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for her work in promoting environmentally-friendly carwashing, The Signal reported on Jan. 21.
Weiss was honored for her work in teaching carwash owners how to design, develop and implement charity carwash programs from both a community service and an environmental protection perspective, eliminating wastewater from carwash operations, the news service reported.
****The governor and the state's Environmental Protection Agency wrote that Weiss' work sends a clear and concise message about the harmful effects of driveway washing and the importance of community collaboration, the article said. ****
"I was shocked. Recognition for my work came as complete surprise," Weiss said in the article. Weiss told the news service that she had been working with both individual carwash owners and members of the Western Carwash Association (WCA) for a number of years now.
According to the article, Schwarzenegger became familiar with her work when she submitted the WCA as a candidate for the Governor's 2004 Environmental and Economic Leadership Award. While the association didn't receive the award, Weiss was recognized for her work in the campaign.
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Let me begin by saying that I think we all care about pollution...we don't want to harm our environment...we use products and methods that minimize the impact of what we do.
But
I take this as the Car Wash Industry bringing their muscle and money to bear in an effort to convince local municipalities to ban driveway washing. It can't be interpreted any other way... I'll repeat the main message again..."Weiss' work sends a clear and concise message about the harmful effects of driveway washing and the importance of community collaboration, the article said"
When it comes to this kind of legislation...as California goes, so goes the nation. This is about the perception of water wasting and harmful run-off. It doesn't matter if these concerns are valid or not..if we who are responsible use bio-degradable shampoos....they just have to be sold to City Governments and... even easier..to Home Owner Associations...as being valid. Then these entities can then be seen as "doing something" about "Pollution".
This is no different than the assaults on their hobby that Classic Car Collectors and Restorers face. They have created associations and together those associations hire lobbyists to protect their interests. We have no such association.
If you saw an article in a newspaper saying that your city government was having a hearing to consider a car wash ban what would you do? If you went to the hearing , what facts could you present? What studies could you cite to refute those presented by the industry lobbyist?
Them: Driveway car washing is bad..it creates harmful chemical run-off and wastes water... here are studies to prove it.
You: Uh......does not.
This is a real deal...it's only a matter of time.
We need a plan..either to fight the legislative pressure..to prepare materials to use to defend our practices.. or to live with the consequences.
The Car Care product manufacturers are working to formulate products that comply with the coming EPA restrictions. That's good. But if you can't wash your car .. how are you going to use these products? Take your car to the Automatic Scrape 'n Shine and then come home and try to mitigate the damage?
I for one don't want to spend the rest of my life trying to wash my car with QEW!
I'm posting this to begin dialogue. We need to do this. We need Meguiars and the other suppliers and distributors to get behind this.
Comments?
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SANTA CLARITA, CA — Local public relations consultant Stephanie Weiss was recently recognized by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for her work in promoting environmentally-friendly carwashing, The Signal reported on Jan. 21.
Weiss was honored for her work in teaching carwash owners how to design, develop and implement charity carwash programs from both a community service and an environmental protection perspective, eliminating wastewater from carwash operations, the news service reported.
****The governor and the state's Environmental Protection Agency wrote that Weiss' work sends a clear and concise message about the harmful effects of driveway washing and the importance of community collaboration, the article said. ****
"I was shocked. Recognition for my work came as complete surprise," Weiss said in the article. Weiss told the news service that she had been working with both individual carwash owners and members of the Western Carwash Association (WCA) for a number of years now.
According to the article, Schwarzenegger became familiar with her work when she submitted the WCA as a candidate for the Governor's 2004 Environmental and Economic Leadership Award. While the association didn't receive the award, Weiss was recognized for her work in the campaign.
****************************************
Let me begin by saying that I think we all care about pollution...we don't want to harm our environment...we use products and methods that minimize the impact of what we do.
But
I take this as the Car Wash Industry bringing their muscle and money to bear in an effort to convince local municipalities to ban driveway washing. It can't be interpreted any other way... I'll repeat the main message again..."Weiss' work sends a clear and concise message about the harmful effects of driveway washing and the importance of community collaboration, the article said"
When it comes to this kind of legislation...as California goes, so goes the nation. This is about the perception of water wasting and harmful run-off. It doesn't matter if these concerns are valid or not..if we who are responsible use bio-degradable shampoos....they just have to be sold to City Governments and... even easier..to Home Owner Associations...as being valid. Then these entities can then be seen as "doing something" about "Pollution".
This is no different than the assaults on their hobby that Classic Car Collectors and Restorers face. They have created associations and together those associations hire lobbyists to protect their interests. We have no such association.
If you saw an article in a newspaper saying that your city government was having a hearing to consider a car wash ban what would you do? If you went to the hearing , what facts could you present? What studies could you cite to refute those presented by the industry lobbyist?
Them: Driveway car washing is bad..it creates harmful chemical run-off and wastes water... here are studies to prove it.
You: Uh......does not.
This is a real deal...it's only a matter of time.
We need a plan..either to fight the legislative pressure..to prepare materials to use to defend our practices.. or to live with the consequences.
The Car Care product manufacturers are working to formulate products that comply with the coming EPA restrictions. That's good. But if you can't wash your car .. how are you going to use these products? Take your car to the Automatic Scrape 'n Shine and then come home and try to mitigate the damage?
I for one don't want to spend the rest of my life trying to wash my car with QEW!
I'm posting this to begin dialogue. We need to do this. We need Meguiars and the other suppliers and distributors to get behind this.
Comments?
Comment